The first annual “War at the Shore” tournament was held July 13th thru July 16th. This tournament had five of the top fishing clubs on the New Jersey coast competing for the Governor’s Plaque and bragging rights as the top Marlin and Tuna club in the state. Proceeds raised were donated to Children’s Leukemia Foundation. The clubs competing were OCMTC, Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club, Cape May Marlin and Tuna Club, Forked River Tuna Club, and Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club. OCMTC was represented by 19 boats, which had the most boats registered of the five clubs. When the weigh in closed at 8PM on Sunday, the standings were:

MRMTC: 89.76 points

FRTC: 88.65 points

OCMTC: 50 points

BHMTC: 33.86 points

CMMTC: 15.30 points

In addition, $3090.00 was raised to contribute to the Children’s Leukemia Foundation in the name of Parker Nork, who was a member of BHMTC.

OCMTC results were as follows:

Barracuda- 156 points Captain Chazz- 74 points

Kraken- 152 points Oh Well- 52 points

Nuthin’ Fancy- 118 points On a Roll- 35.5 points

Huntress- 114.5 points Summer Run- 30 points

Irish Wake- 100 points Diamond Girl- 27 points

Alana Ken- 91 points

Other boats competing were Breakaway, Jackie Sea, Lisa Marie, M & M, Red Head, Reel Addiction, Polarizer, and Inflexible. Polarizer, Jackie Sea, M & M and Oh Well braved some less than ideal conditions and fished on Friday and Saturday. Oh Well managed a nice 52LB tuna caught in the Tom’s Canyon. The rest of the field fished on a beautiful Sunday with brilliant sunshine, little wind, and flat calm conditions. Most of the fleet headed to the Wilmington Canyon and were greeted with water that was less than ideal in color. But despite the water clarity, several nice size tuna were boated by Barracuda, Kraken, Huntress, Alana Ken and Nuthin’ Fancy. Irish Wake and Captain Chazz tallied billfish releases with Irish Wake winning the War at the Shore tournament Marlin Release Jackpot!!!! In addition, Diamond Girl and junior angler Larry Stout III captured 2nd place in the Heaviest Mahi Jackpot, with a mahi-mahi weighing 13.5LBS. Great job Larry! Special thanks to Alex Sabetta for organizing the event. What a fun event that will be a yearly new addition to the OCMTC fishing calendar. And thank you to the weigh-in staff of Joan Walker, Marlene Thornton, Sonya and Brian Logue, Kelly McMurray and Lisa Gallagher, as well as all the participants from the OCMTC. Way to go OCMTC!

Next up: 40TH Anniversary Overnight Billfish Tournament.

The 2017 OCMTC Team Tournament began with a Captains Meeting at Point Tackle in Somers Point. A packed house enjoyed checking out the beautiful new shop, while having food and cocktails and registering for both the Team Tournament and the upcoming War at the Shore tournament. Thanks to Andy Eget for hosting the event. Eleven “offshore” boats and four “inshore” boats registered for the tournament. Teams were as follows:

All the “offshore” Captains made the decision to run on Sunday due to more favorable conditions. With lines in at 6AM, Breakaway was able to release a white marlin at 6:35, (one of two for the trip). The release qualifies for the First Marlin Award for 2017. Congrats to Captain Jack Davidson and crew for the achievement. There was a decent white marlin and small tuna bite in the Wilmington in the early morning. As the day progressed, larger tuna began biting, with some decent size Mahi catches as well. Nuthin Fancy had Yellowfin tuna of 46 and 47LBS and a white marlin release. Jackie Sea had a 48LB Yellowfin, and Polarizer had two Yellowfins of 54 and 51LBS. Kraken’s Yellowfin weighed 41LBS. Alanaken fished closer to home and had Yellowfins of 47 and 38LBS. Captain Chazz tallied a White Marlin release. And Lisa Marie won the heaviest fish Calcutta with a Yellowfin that weighed in at over 56LBS. Mahi were caught up to 14LBS to round out a day where catches were spread pretty evenly among most of the boats. When all the points were tallied, the team of Breakaway, Captain Chazz, Jackie Sea, and Little Barracuda took first place with 273.5 points. Second place went to team Captain Chazz, Kraken, Polarizer, and Tinker Toy with 236.5 points.

This year’s Inshore/Offshore Team Tournament had the highest number of boats registered in years. Thanks to those who supported the Club and participated.